A number of studies have recognised the lack of skills in the foundry industry, however it is not only the lack of skills but also no clear career path to follow that makes it difficult to attract new entrants to the industry. The industry indentified the largest gap to be on shop floor level, therefore it was agreed to start building this career path on NQF level 2 – 4 through learnerships; melter, moulder and patternmaker. Since its inception, this project straddled the existing SAQA landscape on the one hand and the new Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) on the other hand. This meant that it was registered as an official QCTO pilot.
Career Path FrameworkAchieved to date
The following objectives set for phase one was completed by December 2009. Re-design of the draft foundry qualifications (NQF 2 – 4) in accordance with the newly developed qualification design Develop three occupational profiles to articulate with exiting qualifications in specific foundry sectors Create a learning pathway/ careerpath framework
Develop curriculum in support of the occupational profiles Negotiate the process of registering the qualifications and unit standards on the NQF with SAQA, QCTO and MerSETA
In the previous FY in phase two the first eighteen (18) learners enrolled on the learning programme. The learnership builds into a 3 year programme, specialising either as a Melter, Moulder or Patternmaker. The 18 learners completed their first half of the year on NQF level 2 at Arcelor Mittal which is one of the pilot sites that was selected and approved by industry. The three pilots are Arcelor Mittal, Atlantis Foundry and Scaw. Trade specific learning commenced in January 2011 at the three sites, the first year learnership (on NQF2) shall be completed by July/Aug 2011. The project team of which NFTN and SAIF is part of, alongside a MerSETA consultant developed the learning material for the first year (NQF 2) of the qualification.
Planned activities for 2011/12 Fifteen (15) new learners enrolled to commence in January 2012. Sixteen (16) learners progressing to 2nd year learnership (NQF 3) Training material developed for 2nd year (NQF 3) of the qualification Engage FETs in offering the theory part of the training Cooperate with NAMB to develop the assessment criteria; also for the trades tests
Possible risk identified
Government is looking at bringing back the artisan model of delivery for trades in which this training bandwidth is falling, the learnership model was the preferred delivery model to date. SAIF and NFTN will have to ensure that this will not cause a delay in the training process and therefore be in close communication with QCTO, NAMB and MerSETA. NAMB believes that due to the fact that both the SAQA and QCTO processes were followed in the development of the learnership that it will not be a problem. Another possible risk could be the lack of capacity within the FETs that are currently not catering for the needs of the foundry industry.
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